Education

Lesson Plans

Lesson 1. Archaeology and Erosion

Using 3-D archaeological data students will build scale models of a Mayan pyramid using sugar cubes. Using the sugar cube pyramids, students will then conduct an experiment on erosion to learn about its affect on archaeological sites. Who said science can't be sweet?

Lesson 2. Global Warming: The Effect of Rising Sea Levels

How could global warming affect our cities and monuments? Using an online, interactive map and a hands-on activity, students will investigate the potential effect of rising sea levels caused by global warming.

Lesson 3. Virtual Tour Guide Lesson Plan

Take a virtual field trip! Students will create a virtual tour or create a digital travel brochure of a historical site. Students will narrate their tour using the power of their voice and media from CyArk's website.

Students will use point cloud elevations of the San Antonio Missions as the background for creating architectural line drawings. Students will learn the basic commands and conventions of computer aided drafting and will practice creating the components of a professional architectural drawing.

Students will use materials created through the San Antonio Missions Digital Preservation Project, which are available on CyArk’s website, to create a presentation on one of the missions. Students will learn about the selected mission’s history and architecture, and will share what they have learned by giving an architectural presentation.

Lesson 10. Comparing and Contrasting Heritage from Around the World

Students will select and study two heritage sites in CyArk’s digital archive. Students will then compose an essay comparing and contrasting the history, culture, and/or architecture of the two heritage sites selected.

Lesson 12. Creating a Professional Portfolio

Students will explore the heritage sites in CyArk’s digital archive and select their favorite site. Students will then use the information and material available in CyArk’s digital archive to practice creating a professional portfolio.

Lesson 13. Hopi Clan Symbols

Students learn about important aspects of Hopi culture and history through a study of Hopi clan symbols found in Tutuveni. A field trip to Tutuveni and Dawa Park, along with printable activities (online version available as well) allow students to gain in-depth understanding of the topic.

Duration: Three to four 45 minute classroom sessions (plus an optional field trip activity)

Type: Student Activity

Lesson 14. History of Tutuveni and Hopi Clan Symbols

Students learn about the History of Tutuveni as an important stop along the sacred Hopi Salt Trail Pilgrimage. Through a field trip activity and research utilizing selected articles and the CyArk Hopi Petroglyph Sites portal, students gather information to be able to prepare a formal presentation.

Duration: Three to four 45 minute classroom sessions (plus an optional field trip activity)

Type: Student Project

Lesson 15. Respecting Our Past

Students learn about Hopi sites including Tutuveni and Dawa Park through a field trip activity and research through selected articles and the CyArk Hopi Petroglyph Sites portal. With the information gathered, students prepare a formal presentation concerning the issues of vandalism, deterioration, and preservation at Tutuveni and other Hopi sites.

Duration: Three to four 45 minute classroom sessions (plus an optional field trip activity)

Type: Student Project

Lesson 16. Use Photographs to Create 3D Models

Students learn how to use photography and free 3D modeling software from Autodesk to create a 3D digital model of their own head or any simple objects at home. Students can take their 3D model further by creating a 2D architectural drawing, just like the drawings that CyArk created for Mount Rushmore. The tutorial document should be opened in Adobe Reader, which can be downloaded for free here.

Lesson 17. Geometry at Mount Rushmore

Find simple geometric shapes in objects around them. Students will practice identifying and correctly naming geometric shapes within Mount Rushmore. Students should already be familiar with geometric shapes and their names.

Lesson 18. Math at Mount Rushmore

Understand that more complex shapes can be partitioned into smaller, simpler, geometric shapes. Learner will be able to understand the concept of grids and symmetry, and be able to use them to make basic or more advanced area calculations.

Lesson 19. Math at Mount Rushmore

Recognize shapes in Mount Rushmore, whether it’s 2D shapes through a series of 2D drawings, or 3D shapes through measurable PDF’s of the 3D model of Mount Rushmore. Use geometric formulas to calculate the volumes of these shapes based on scaled representations. Effectively use understanding of scale to translate these calculations to life-size.

Lesson 20. Math at Mount Rushmore

Calculate the weight of Mount Rushmore. Start by calculating the volume using cross sections of the model. Use density of stone to finally arrive at a rough estimate of the weight. Finally, calculate when two cracks on the surface of the sculpture would intersect over time.

Lesson 21. Carving Tools at Mount Rushmore

Find simple geometric shapes in objects around them. Students will practice identifying and correctly naming geometric shapes within Mount Rushmore. Students will learn about the marks that carving tools make. Students will also learn about the processes of rock removal at Mount Rushmore and why the different tools were used at each point of the process.

Lesson 23. Mount Rushmore as Sculpture

Recreate the Mount Rushmore sculpture with accuracy in mind but using non-traditional sculpture materials. Use drawings and 3D content to get an understanding of the 3-dimensional volumes of the model for accuracy.

Lesson 24. Designing a Monument

Utilize resources available in the art classroom to recreate the Mount Rushmore Sculpture, or design their own version, where they chose the four figures from history they feel should be represented by the monumental sculpture. Students will present their final art piece to the classroom with a persuasive argument for their choices of the figures.

Lesson 25. Preservation at Mount Rushmore

Learn about the various preservation concerns at Mount Rushmore. By learning to recognize the various types of rocks found in Mount Rushmore and their different characteristics and varying rates of erosion, students will be able to understand the complexity of caring for a monument like Mount Rushmore.

Lesson 26. 3D Modeling and Scale

Construct a topographic model of Mount Rushmore. After the model is completed, students use concepts of scale and proportion (similarity concept in math) to calculate the scale of their model by comparing to real-life measurements.

How did the Spanish utilize architecture to achieve their purpose in California? Using the historic record, virtual tours, 3D scan data, and 3D drawing/modeling programs like Google SketchUp or MineCraft, students will design their own mission site.

Lesson 30. La Próxima Parada: The Next Stop Along El Camino Real

Analyzing 3D content and conducting independent research, students will propose the next location along El Camino Real. Students will take on historically relevant perspectives and will rationalize their decision in front of a mock council. For the next stop along El Camino Real, let the council decide!

Lesson 32. Cultural Exchange: Be Our Guide

Test your skills as a tour guide! At the end of this lesson, students will understand what everyday life was like at a California mission, communicate historical events in an engaging way, and explore audio recording and editing technologies to share their work with a public audience.

Lesson 34. Rock Art of the Past

Using CyArk's 3D data and accurate perspective drawings, students try their hand at interpreting rock art symbols! Students will learn about the tools used in making rock art, invent their own symbols, and paint a story using their symbols on rocks to decorate their classrooms. Along the way, students will reflect on why rock art was important to those who created it, and how we can appreciate and respect the past today.

Lesson 35. Engineering Rosslyn Chapel: Physics in Practice

In this lesson, students will learn about basic concepts of mechanical and gravitational forces, load bearing, and several forms of arch construction and strengthening. A field trip to Rosslyn Chapel is encouraged, where students will identify arch forms using correct terminology, and build off what they learn to construct their own arches!

Lesson 36. Master’s Apprentice: Measuring Rosslyn Chapel

In this lesson, students will learn the basics of measurements and architectural drawing. In understanding what details are important to document and record, students will translate their measurements into a 3D graphics software program to create their own accurate drawings of architectural features and various symbols represented at Rosslyn Chapel.

Lesson 37. Talking Gothic: Style and Structure at Rosslyn Chapel

In this lesson, students will learn to recognize and describe key elements of Gothic architecture and identify which Gothic elements are featured at Rosslyn Chapel, developing a rubric for future recognition of architectural styles and congruency. Students will research other architectural styles as well as the symbology featured at Rosslyn Chapel, and will have the opportunity to develop their own unique style of design.

Lesson 38. Building the Best: Comparing Observatories

In this lesson, students will learn about the social function and construction techniques of observatories in the past and today. Through an analysis of Chichen Itza and Chankillo, students will embark on their own research and reconstruction project, concluding in a 3D computer model or physical model.

Lesson 40. Charting Social Issues: Urban Planning at Natchez

In this lesson, students will study the relationship between Natchez, an early European settlement along the lower Mississippi River, with the concurrent slave trade within the context of the United States. Focusing on the changes within Natchez between the 1800s and today, students will investigate trends in urban planning and societal inequalities as a direct result of riverside slave market and auction towns.

Lesson 42. Mapping the Impacts of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

In this lesson, students will learn about the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and how this system has impacted our contemporary world. Through a study of maps, maritime travel, and oceanography, students will investigate the political and economic climates that supported the extensive slave trade, and will gain a deeper understanding of how a system of this kind has impacted the lives of individuals throughout history and today.

Lesson 44. Form, Function, and Spirituality at Rani ki Vav

In this lesson, students will learn about the construction of stepwells, with particular emphasis on the origins of materials and modifications for better functionality. Through an analysis of Rani ki Vav, an ornate stepwell in northern India, students will study ceremonial traditions in relation to water and the intersection between functionality and spirituality.

Lesson 46. Recreating El Camino Real

In this lesson, students will learn about the construction techniques of adobe structures in Spanish colonial architecture. Through a hands-on reconstruction project, students will engage in adobe construction and material testing, concluding in a research report connecting the historic missions to their contemporary city landscapes.